R-Type - Last Words
by mjjeffer
Summary: A love story to the R-Type series, following the adventures of Samantha Baker and her friend, Kaji Takagami, in the Bydo war.
1. Prologue

Prologue

 **161 Post Contact.**

 _ **Blast off and STRIKE the Bydo Empire!**_

The signs were everywhere in the city, showing just how low recruitment was for the Earth Defence Forces R-8 program. Since the catastrophic invasion of the solar system in 154PC by the Bydo, and the destruction of Jupiter's moon Io, along with the scouring clean of the surface of Mars, humanity generally had been cowed, almost beaten, with few exceptions. The streets were quiet, and to a native of those bygone years, before contact, the world itself would appear far too silent.

Nearly two-thirds of the world's population had been massacred in onslaughts from the Bydo, great rents in the earth taken by hideously powerful wave-cannon weapons causing the oceans to boil and steam to fill the atmosphere. China and India, the highest population centers on the planet, were struck hardest, showing up to the Bydo as the biggest threat. The Bydo's tactics were well understood – as a self-cloning organism, reliant on bacteria-like mitosis to reproduce, the Bydo would cluster together and fight in gigantic swarms, and because of this, they tended to select the largest concentrations of population as their targets – to the Bydo, more population equals more power, and thus, more of a threat. Inversely, a small population, or better yet, a single manned fighter craft, for instance, was almost ignored. Mechanical and electronics were completely ignored, as if they didn't even register with whatever passed for scanners in the Bydo intelligence.

After the slaughter at Mars, and the devastation at Io, all looked lost for mankind. The Bydo approached, streaming towards earth, the cosmic distances and weeks of travel between planets at light speeds becoming nothing to the Bydo mastery of dimensional travel. How could mankind stand up to an enemy that could cross stars in a matter of minutes?

Yet, through the chaos, the conflict and destruction on Earth, a miracle occurred – the Bydo, the demonic, horrific war machine, organic and in some ways hideously beautiful, were turned back. The onslaught halted – nobody on Earth at the time knew how, or why, but they knew it had halted. What they did not know was who was responsible for the miracle.

The miracle only stopped the invasion though – deep scans would show the Bydo massed out near Pluto, recovering and waiting for the day when they would end humanity, all too completely. The Bydo had been waiting for five years now, five long years where humanity stood on constant alert, watchful for any sign that they would return.

A light rain began to fall on the city, as it so often did these days, gently sparking from the shield defences set up to protect the people within. Autoturrets turned and scanned the sky constantly and, deep underground, the preparations were nearly complete, preparations that would bring the war back to the Bydo.

 **June 30, 2460AD – Contact**

A beep, so faint as to be inaudible.

Another beep.

A long tone, followed by a beep.

Sensor officer Tayla's eyes opened, her cheek pressed firmly against the desk, a small puddle of drool just beginning to form wetting her face and causing her to snap upright and wipe herself off.

"Oh… crap. Sleeping again. At least I had my ala-"

Her muttering was cut off by the realization that the noise was not coming from her internal alarm, but from the speakers on her station. Speakers that for the last ten years had been silent, speakers that she had wondered, from time to time, if they were even connected, or if this was just a waste of a life.

"Crap… crap… crapcrapcrapwhatthehell! Major! MAJOR BAKER!" with a minor freak out and a sudden realization that _this was what she had been waiting for_ she bellowed for her commanding officer, starting the sequence to focus the sensors down to the location the signal was coming from.

 _Where is the major?_ "Major!" _He should have been here by now!_ Zeroing in on the signal, coming from just past the general area of Pluto, it began to define on her scope. Several long tones, a couple of beeps, several long tones, a beep. It seemed almost random, except that some patterns would repeat. It almost seemed like…

"What, Captain?! This had better be important, I was on my monthly video call to my family back home!" the Major stormed in. Major Tony Baker, current commanding officer of the Earth Defence Monitoring station – a position not relished by anyone in the Earth Defence Forces due to the outstanding lack of external life, hostile or otherwise. His assignment was merely because his number had come up for time to spend 'in the dead room' – so called because of the total lack of activity ever recorded in that office. With a wiry, lean build, of average height, the Major was not going to be winning any 'Mister Universe' competitions, however it wasn't his body which had raised him to the rank of Major. His mind was as sharp as a razor, and he enjoyed training his daughter to be a quick-witted rogue.

Captain Tayla pointed at the monitoring station.

"Sir, a signal started to come through only minutes ago. It sounds like Morse code. It transmits the same message, and repeats. The signal is coming from just out of the solar system, in the range of Pluto." Tayla settled in to her military training, the excitement still bouncing her around in her chair and her speech coming like a hail of letters and words.

The captain looked, in order, concerned, puzzled, elated, and eventually settled on pleased. He started translating the message.

"This is exactly what we've been waiting for, Captain! Proof of life, outside our world! We need to get this news out as soon as possible – once we have this message translated, we need to broadcast to EDF Central – open a channel and get them to watch the skies, it could be a greet-", the Major's words died in his mouth, the smile draining from his face as the full impact of the now translated message scrolled across the screen in front of him.

PREPARE YOUR DEFENCES STOP THEY ARE COMING STOP THEY WILL KILL EVERYTHING STOP MESSAGE REPEATS PREPARE YOUR DEFENCES STOP THEY ARE COMING STOP THEY WILL KILL EVERYTHING STOP MESSAGE REPEATS

"Sir?" asked Tayla.

"Get the EDF on the line. Tell them our worst fears have been confirmed. Tell them we are not alone, and we may wish we had been." The Major was not smiling anymore. He wasn't scared. There was steel in his eyes, and a clench of his jaw showed determination.

"Tell them to prepare program R".

 _On the other side of the world, a lone telescope, by chance, pointing at Pluto, sees a small nova. The monitoring station in the dead room goes silent once more._

 _The word goes out to a largely unbelieving world. Only a few take heed. Most disregard the warning as a hoax, a UFO scandal by an incompetent prankster. What alien would know Morse code? Why would they use it?_

 _The EDF takes the message seriously, and begins to prepare program 'R'. Program R, the codename for the R-Type project, debated for years and eventually settled on as a project of last resort, a project to develop the ultimate combat space fighter._

 _For decades an elite team of astrophysicists, quantum physicists, materials experts, antimatter experts, military and researchers alike, called from all corners of the globe, begin to work on the most advanced spacecraft ever seen. Through generations, the original purpose of the project remains clear – prepare Earth for interstellar war._

 _In 32PC, the first successful high energy ion drive is built into a spaceframe. This becomes the foundation for all R-type ships, lending every ship using the technology a distinctive bulbous aft. Near relativistic speeds are achieved by mankind in a massed spaceship for the first time in history._

 _In 55PC, the first orbital defense platform is raised into orbit. Codenamed station Sakura, this was to be the launching pad for any earth based defense fleet. Boasting internal construction capability, sleeping quarters for dozens of pilots and military staff, Sakura becomes the launching pad for hundreds of projects based on R-type technology, from asteroid miners to low earth flying tanks and construction vehicles, and even automated cargo carrying transports, nicknamed "Pilot On Walkabout", or POW ships after a remote control pilot is found off-station while their transport continues to deliver goods._

 _In 98PC, the first Wave Motion Gun is developed. Using a capacitance charge to draw all forms of energy, from gamma rays to photons, into a magnetically supported firing arm, a colossal output can be achieved for almost negligible power input. The Wave Motion Gun is test fired at maximum output for the first time to a crowd of appreciative workers and output is calculated at over fifty gigatons. Unfortunately, the structure required to support the gun occupies an entire defense platform, leaving no room for personnel. Military models R-2 through R-7 are tested for various combat possibilities but all are deemed to be insufficiently powerful to provide adequate defense against more than small meteors._

 _In 120PC, the technology for the Wave Motion Gun is successfully miniaturized and inserted into an R-Type chassis. After countless tests, the gun and ship are cleared for combat use. Production of the R-8 begins, and the pilot training program begins. Pilots for the R-8 are carefully picked for reflexes, mental stability and endurance under pressure. Pilots are stationed constantly on the dozens of orbital defense platforms around the globe, and all ships are kept on active standby. Some question why, when there has been no activity. Perhaps, some say, the message really was just a hoax by a bored monitoring attendant._

 _In 150PC, the fleet of R-8 fighters is put into long term storage and the pilots returned to Earth. 150 years have passed since the warning, and no soul now lives to remember the message. A small team of personnel remain on active development duty, preparing a new weapon, and a new fighter, based on the R-8, codename: Arrowhead._

 _In 154PC, without warning, the Bydo destroy Io and begin their assault on humanity._


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

 **162 Post Contact, Orbital Platform Sakura**

Samantha Baker, First Officer of the R-9 defense fleet, stationed at Orbital Platform Sakura, strode casually down the hall. Black combat boots laced up to the knee, white and blue flight uniform tucked into the boots and arms tied around her waist, black combat shirt loose, highlighting her stark neon green hair and pale complexion from too many days in space without sunlight, Sam was in no particular hurry to get to her summons.

She mused, _it's been a while. The station still looks like it came out of a video game though. Too bright, too colourful. I hope they have a good reason for pulling me back to active duty._

Walking past a heavy plate window, she stopped, looked inside – the familiar blue glow bringing back memories. Memories she wasn't keen on revisiting, so soon.

 _Shattered ships fill near space, the remnants of the R-8 fleet near earth. Savage, organic, tentacled beasts, great swarms of them, followed by flying red wings that looked like muscles without skin, tendons keeping them taut, fired from orifices at their fore, golden plasma melting holes in stations, ships and personnel. Breaches in the hull created windy conditions in the station despite the air locks between sections, and her hair flapped in her face, streaked with another pilot's blood. Climbing from the floor after the latest impact, she stands in front of the door labelled "Arrowhead test unit". She doesn't have the code to get in, but screams and slams ineffectually against the pad anyway, she has to get out there and do_ something _to stop the wholesale slaughter as_ again _the colossal blazing blue beam of light blasts out from the fleet, lighting up the halls of the station as if the walls were made of paper, slamming against the earth and boiling the Indian Ocean._

Sam shook her head to clear the memories. The only thing in front of her is the view of the beautiful ship, all smooth and sleek lines, test-firing its main wave gun. As smooth as the first time she ever saw it, clean of any pock marks or scorches. Clean of the evidence of the time humanity nearly perished.

" _LET ME IN! YOU HAVE TO LET ME IN!" Sam screams, pleads with the computer, but her voice print isn't matched, her hand print does not exist, and she lacks the override codes to get in. Slumped against the wall, she begins to cry, tears flowing freely as another blast of blue illuminates the inside of the station. When the flash clears, she hears a gentle 'whoosh'. She looks up, to see the base Commander, looking at her._

" _You know it's only a prototype, right?" He asks her._

 _Wiping her eyes clear, she stands at attention, shakily. "Yes Sir. I know. It's our only hope, Sir. And I'm the last one that can pilot it."_

 _Deadly serious, the Commander looks her in the eye. "Then good luck, Pilot Baker. You'll need it. Go kick their ass."_

 _Sam Baker, last pilot of the R-8 fleet stationed on orbital base Sakura, alive only by luck that her ship was detonated before she could get to it, salutes the Commander. Without waiting for a reply, she spins, and races through the now open door to the ship at the end of the gangway._

 _The ladder is in place. The cockpit, a smooth blue cylinder, is open and waiting. Sweeping her eye over it from the aft, she checks out the large bank of ion drives, the small atmospheric manoeuvring planes jutting outwards like a shark's dorsal and ventral fins, before the bulky engines make way for the sleek aerodynamic cockpit. Long enough for an adult to lie down in, it angles down slightly to give full view of space in front of the pilot. Below it, lies the immensely powerful array controlling the wave motion gun, a set of thin needle projections pointing forward with no lack of clarity about their intent. Her brain stops short at the object hovering just in front of the ship. Two meters in diameter, and seemingly made of hovering plasma, a golden orb with three large metal rods embedded into it, going almost to the centre and extending at the edge of the sphere back towards the ship, embracing it and rotating along the axis of the ship very slowly, this would be the 'force' device she had heard rumours of._

 _She runs to the ladder, and, climbing into the cockpit, straps herself in. Engaging the systems, almost exactly the same as the R-8 controls, bar a small button labelled 'attach/detach', she is able to fire up the ship in record time. The launch block raises into place behind her, and as the cockpit is still sealing, she blasts off, ready to fight the Bydo empire._

With the ship behind her, Sam walked along the corridor until she stood before the door labelled simply 'Commander'. Tapping the intercom button on the door, she waited for the response. It came in the form of an opening door, and a blur of motion with blue hair tackle-hugging her to the floor.

"Sam! Guess what! They made me a test pilot!" the words fired out of the blur's mouth, and once her brain had recovered from the unexpected shock, she recognised the voice, and the hair, and the narrow, almost weedy young body dusting itself off and standing back – Kaji Takagami, her protégé, childhood friend and confidant.

She smiled warmly and in what felt like the first time for months, the smile reached her eyes. "Congratulations! That's amazing news, well done Kaji, you've earned it. Do you know what you'll be piloting yet?" She asked the young man before her.

"Not yet, there's been some talk about the new force devices being developed being almost ready, so it's likely it'll be more to do with testing compatibility of those than any special new ships – but I don't care! I'm in a ship, an R-type ship, and I get to fly free and push it hard!" Kaji said, almost bouncing on his toes from the excitement.

Sam looked him in the eye, and saw the fire burning in him that she remembered from her first time flying the R-8 ships, and grinned fiercely. "I'm proud of you Kaji. I'm really, really proud of you. It's been a long road, but you're here, so you made it."

Kaji blushed slightly, but kept her gaze. "Thanks Sam. I sort of hope I never have to fight the Bydo, but at the same time, if I do, I hope I can be half the pilot you are."

The smile began to fade from her face. "Yeah. The Bydo. Um, look, I hate to cut this short but I have an appointment with the Commander, and," looking over Kaji's shoulder, she could see the commander waiting at his desk, patiently, "I believe it's kind of important.'

Kaji stepped aside. "Good luck Sam. I don't know what it's about, but if they're putting on new test pilots, it must be something big. Look me up, I'll leave my comm code in your quarters."

"Thanks Kaji", Sam said, with an echo of her earlier smile, and walked into the Commander's office, the door closing quietly behind her.

Station Commander Jorges Olsen stood beside his desk, arms lightly clasped in front of him, clearly in no hurry but with an air of world-weariness about him all the same. As Sam entered, he stepped forward and extended a hand to shake. "Welcome back aboard station Sakura, Officer Baker. It's good to have you here."

Taking his hand and shaking it only briefly, Samantha narrowed her eyes at the Commander. "Thank you Sir. It's good to be here, but, permission to speak freely, Sir?"

"Go ahead, Samantha, and we can dispense with the formalities for the time being. Call me Jay." Said Jorges.

"Likewise Jay, I'm Sam. Be honest with me, why am I here? I wasn't called back just to see my friend become test pilot, as nice as it would be for that to be the only reason I'm on this station." Sam asked, controlling her suspicions. _It's not like it's not possible, after all, that it's something benign._

Jorges pulled his seat back, and motioned for Sam to do the same. Sitting down heavily, he looked her in the eye. "Two reasons, really, Sam. The first ties in with the second though. Reason one: We need to get your opinion on some new force designs, like Pilot Kaji was saying – it's not just talk that they're ready, they *are* ready. We need to know which, in your opinion, is going to be most effective against the Bydo, in a heavy combat situation like you encountered eight years ago." he paused, and took a moment to think about what he needed to say.

"This ties in to the second reason. Whatever you pick, we need you to fly, with the new R-9O. It's time we took the fight back to these bastards. It's been eight years, with no signs of movement from the mass out near Pluto, but you were here last time. There wasn't any sign then, either."

Sam stared at him, stomach slowly dropping. _Well. That tears it. So much for benign._ "Commander… Jay… I don't know if I can do what you want me to. When I was out there last time… some of the things I saw, some of the things I _felt_ , were not – just not right, at all. I don't know that I can deal with whatever that _thing_ out there has turned itself into."

Jorges matched her look, and set his shoulders, sat up a little straighter. "I can't imagine what it was like up close and personal. We saw the recordings, we can review battle data and analyse Bydo strategies until they come back for more, but we weren't there with you. And if it was possible, I'd send someone else, but you're our best bet as a pilot, Sam. We're better equipped this time, with new weapons, new firepower and new defences. The Bydo may have been growing, but we have been _innovating_."

Sam sat back, arms crossed, eyes closed against tears welling in her eyes. "I just… I can't do it like last time. Watching the world burn while I flew out there in dead silence, nothing on comms, just shattered, broken ships and bodies of _people I flew with_ floating on past. You're right, commander, you weren't out there." She gritted her teeth against the painful memories.

Jorges put his arms on the desk, crossed his hands, and spoke calmly. "You don't have to decide right now. We need to launch this week, though, to get the best opportunity to use the slingshot effect from the planets, maybe even get the drop on the Bydo. Take some time to look at the new ship, the new force devices. Regardless of if you pilot, we still need to know which is going to do what we need it to, and you seem to be able to understand them best. It's late, and I know the trip up is a bit rough, so get some rest, too. Come see me at twelve hundred and we can go over the force devices together."

Sam nodded, and wiped her eyes. "Thank you, Jay."

Samantha stood up, and turned to leave. Jorges called out from behind her, "Do you need a hand getting to your quarters?"

Looking at the paint on the back of the door, paint that only covered the metal underneath, she saw the faint scars of plasma bolts pattered on the surface. "No, thank you. I think I can find my way around well enough".

With that, and without waiting for a response, she slid the door open with a touch and stepped into the familiar corridor.

Dazed, Samantha wandered the corridors, almost aimlessly. She wasn't heading back to her quarters, not yet. She could feel the pull in her heart, now, the familiar feeling of swelling, of power contained, and she shook her head to clear it. Taking the lift down to the hangar levels, she could smell the coolant and ozone from welding and fusion reactions making impossibly strong connections in metal hull plates before the doors opened.

Wandering through the hangar area, she spotted something else familiar – her old berth. Rebuilt, gantries and support structures either painted white or left a dull metal where she needed to step, ladder in place, next to a ship.

The ship was not familiar.

Tracing her eye over it, in that appraising manner, she saw some familiar things – a bank of ion engines at the aft, angled planes for atmospheric manoeuvring, a blue tube-shaped cockpit, closed at the moment. But the ship itself, it was smooth, flowing – the engines didn't bulge out like an inflated balloon, but instead were integrated with the surface and the hull angles were sleek, aerodynamic, merging almost seamlessly with the cockpit. Straining her eyes, she could just see the seam where the hatch opened for ingress. It was the most beautiful ship she had ever seen, without doubt, and below the cockpit, in place of the usual array of needle protrusions marking the wave cannon, was one large barrel, surrounded by large heatsink fins, several large needles lined up alongside it. It bristled with menace, and just below the cockpit, between the edge of the hatch and the firing array, were stencilled in flowing cursive the letters: _R-9_ ø – _Ragnarok_.

She sat down, and simply looked, for a very long time.

Eventually, she found her way back to her quarters, and fell onto the sleeping pad, asleep before she hit the pillow.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

 _Rocketing out at full power through the exit tunnel, the full vista of space surrounded her. Stars, so close she could touch them, no atmospheric haze making them shimmer, just pure steady light. The light of the sun, warming her console, and the blue earth beside her, slowly turning and dancing the celestial song of ages._

 _Sam sees it all, and drinks it in, briefly, allowing herself that moment, before turning her attention to the chaos in front of her. Swarms of tiny, human sized creatures, balled up and with tentacles flailing against anything that came too close, chase each other like some hideous mockery of games she played as a child, chasing each other around the school yard. These aren't children though, and this isn't some school game – a tentacle whips out, and drags along the hull of a nearby R-8, slicing it open and rupturing the ion drive core, causing it to go nova instantly. The explosion takes out some of the tentacle creatures but there are thousands of them. Behind them, flying, winged things, spraying plasma, like demonic skinless bats, and behind them, a colossal ship, dwarfing the station behind her, scores of creatures, some so shiny they could have been liquid metal, pouring out of it even still._

 _Sam toggles the radio. "Command, this is Arrowhead, I'm out of the station and staring at the beast. What is my target?"_

 _Silence._

 _Sam taps the headset, and triggers the radio again. "Command, come in, do you copy?"_

 _Silence. Sam cranes her head around and sees the antenna array on the station melted. Even if they could hear her, they can't transmit. She's alone._

 _She feels the tug, from in front of her, and turns again. The force is glowing, and just in time she sees a rogue wing-ship flying straight at her, plasma blasting. It's too late to get out of the way, and she reflexively flinches, preparing for depressurisation and the sudden cold of space, when the plasma strikes the force orb in front of her, and dissipates. The wing-ship follows suit, having no time to pull out of its attack run, and_ dissolves _against the force orb._

 _The tug turns into a shout, like a raised arm of triumph, and in her head, she sees chance, the possibility. She lifts her head high, thumbs the firing trigger and charges her wave cannon. Light begins to gather under her cockpit, stray dust particles being pulled in, turned to pure plasma by the slowly accumulating energy under her. Nosing the ship towards the nearest swarm of tentacle beasts, she feels it, like a command in her chest –_

 _ **Now! Here!**_

 _And fires, releasing the trigger and watching as the condensed ball of energy rockets from her ship at half the speed of light, crossing the distance from her to the beasts in moments. The energy simply vaporises the enemy, passing through each one causing a small, wet looking splat in space, and as she watches, the ball of energy splits as it diffuses, spraying out in all directions, blasting enemies out of space all in front of her in a massive cone, before finally dispersing, the core of the blast splashing, in the far distance, against the outer layer of the behemoth in the heart of the swarm._

 _Around her is empty space. She fires her thrusters, bringing her speed up to maximum, and begins her solo assault on the Bydo carrier, the outer skin of the thing like hardened leather, flowing, sometimes looking metallic, what seems to be kilometres of ship growing in her screen, dwarfing her tiny craft. She thumbs the radio again. "Command, this is Arrowhead. If you can hear me, the force works, repeat, the force works. I am preparing to engage the beast."_

 _The voice in her chest rises again, making her feel brave, strong._

 _She listens, and dives in to the nearest opening._

Sam looked at her wrist, it's 0600. Time for breakfast. She climbed in to the shower and let the hot water run over her, squeezing out her hair, seeing the darkening on her chest, over her heart, the skin looking aged beyond her years. _And they want me to pilot again. They must be nuts. I must be nuts. Why am I even considering this?_

Dressing, she mused some more. Making a decision, combat fatigues traded for a comfortable flight-ready lining under jeans and a t-shirt, she raised her wrist to her mouth and said a code, waited for a response.

"Morning Sam, sleep well?" the voice on the other end says, faint rustling in the background suggesting Kaji was still either getting out of bed or getting dressed.

Sam smiled. "Hey fella. Not as well as I would have liked, but sleep is for the dead. It's breakfast time! Come on, I'll see you at the mess hall."

Throwing on her flight jacket, she started down the hall and to the lift.

Entering the mess hall, there were already dozens of people, the open space filling with conversation chatter, engineers, pilots, off-duty personnel, but no civilians. Scanning the room, she found a spare table, dropped off her jacket on it to claim it, and headed for the serving counters, thinking to herself, _it's funny how food technology doesn't really change. Hundreds of years ago, people lined up at counters like this, and we still haven't figured out a better way to get lots of food out to lots of people quickly._

A grapefruit, bowl of muesli and yoghurt for her. Eggs on toast for him. No juice, but lots of water, thanks to recent innovations in water recycling. Composted materials sweat, and all the moisture could be reclaimed and treated, and on a station with greenhouses and hundreds of people on board, there was plenty of compost going around.

Returning the tray to the table, she sat down and began to pick at her food. Last night's dream was still ticking through her brain, the feelings in her chest echoing those in the dream. _Was the feeling really so bad?_ She mused, keeping an eye out on the crowds, looking for the blue hair that meant her friend had made it before his eggs went cold.

She turned, looking around behind her, and as she looked back, he was dropping into the seat opposite her, demonstrating that his silent ninja abilities hadn't disappeared in the last year.

"Well good morning sleepyhead, I thought you might miss breakfast!" she ribbed him, pushing the tray of food towards him.

Kaji rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Slept through my alarm, you know I don't wake up that easy. Are they going to make you pilot again?"

Sam frowned. Kaji might be young, but he wasn't stupid, and he could certainly put two and two together. "Not _make_ , but they do want me to. I don't know if I'll take it yet. They want me to look at some new force orbs and defensive technology they've been cooking up here, I think the commander is hoping I'll get distracted by the shiny long enough to take him up."

Kaji regarded her. "I think if you're wearing your flight suit under that getup, you've already made up your mind, you just don't want to admit it yet."

Sam sighed. "You know me too well. Yes, I sort of do want to – the feeling of flying with a force, nothing compares to it. It's like it guides you, tells you what to do. But the doctors still can't tell me why I have a patch of skin on my chest that looks like it came off my grandma, or what exactly I was feeling out there.

Still, if I go look at these force devices, have a play, that can't hurt, right?"

Kaji looked her in the eye, then at his food. "Whatever you say, miss so-far-in-denial-she's-setting-up-camp-in-Egypt. When do you have to go check out the forces?"

Sam flushed. "Screw you, smartass. Twelve hundred, I have to be there. We've got some time, want to do something?"

Kaji grinned. "Thought you'd never ask. I have to go at ten-hundred, I'm testing today, but let's go shoot some hoops, like the old days, hey?"

They spent the morning playing basketball, as they had back at school. Being the same height and basically the same mass made it a very equal game, except that Kaji wasn't afraid to get sneaky and pull fakes, and Sam was very athletic, but more direct.

After two hours, they were tied, with only seconds left on the clock and Sam on defense.

Kaji stamped forward with his right foot, Sam juked to the left, Kaji bounced the ball, bounced it again, and stamped his left foot backward, sending his weight onto it before somehow jumping forward and left with his right foot. Sam juked again to the right but with all her weight in the wrong place, she fell off balance, wobbled, and succeeded only in catching herself before she went down. Kaji sprinted past, jumped, and deftly flicked the ball into the hoop cleanly, just as the timer hit zero.

Pumping his fist into the air with a whoop, Kaji took a moment to celebrate, then caught up with Sam.

"Thanks for today, Sam. I have to go, but let me know what you decide. Don't go flying out there without telling me! I need you alive, got that?" Kaji looked serious, for a moment.

Sam reached out and tousled his hair. "Of course I'll let you know. Right now, I have to say, it's looking like a yes from me, but I'll call you after I've seen what's what out there."

The two friends embraced tightly, and stepped back. "Of course, you need to look after yourself too! I think you owe me a rematch." Sam quickly grinned as she said this to Kaji.

Kaji smiled. "Will do, roger that. I'll see you soon, then."

And with that, Kaji grabbed his gear, threw the ball in the pen, and headed for the lift to the hangars. Likewise, Sam shrugged on her jacket and headed to the other lift, back to her quarters.

Lying on her bed, Samantha's thoughts began to wander. After a while, she drifted off, lost in thought.


End file.
